AZMN Association Annual Conference, January 27-28, 2024

Contributions and Photos: Juanita Armstrong-Ullberg, Maricopa Parks Chapter Sponsor; Dana Hook, Pima Cohort 6; Deb Petrich, Pima Cohort 1

Post from Deb Petrich, Pima MN Chapter: This year the Central Highlands Chapter hosted our Arizona Master Naturalist Annual Conference up in beautiful Prescott, Arizona (the Pines), with well over 50 participants from all 4 Chapters: Borderlands, Central Highlands, Maricopa and Pima.  This was a chance for our naturalists to meet new members, learn about the cultural and natural history of the Central Highlands region (session presented by Maria Icenogle, Education Director at the Highlands Center for Natural History and Chapter Advisor), then attend such diverse breakout sessions ranging from bats, to outdoor school habitats, to the history of the Yavapai people, to a character re-enactment from Prescott’s original mining settlement and more!  On Sunday members could attend a morning session with Noel Fletcher, a Retired Wildlife Biologist, whose presentation discussing, comparing, and contrasting public land management agencies, policies, priorities and natural resource management in Arizona was very enlightening. Afterwards, naturalists were able to participate in several field trip options including an indoor tour at the Museum for Indigenous People or the Natural History Institute.  Otherwise, naturalists headed outdoors to learn about the geology of the Granite Dells, explore the gardens and trails at the Highlands Center for Natural History, or learn about the important preservation work (and see murals!) on Granite Creek. 

Post from Dana Hook, Pima MN Chapter: If you were unable to attend the AZMN conference in Prescott, you missed a wonderful, educational, friendly, and fun event with more than 50 environmental geeks from around the state. The conference was well organized, and I learned so much at the sessions. They brought in retired professionals from the National Parks, the Forest Service, and from Game and Fish. I really appreciated the leader from the Prescott Yavapai tribe that spoke to us about their history, culture, and vision for the future at their reservation and beyond.

The Sunday field trips ranged from a geology hike in the Granite Dells to museums. They were also led by professionals that helped us understand in more detail the history and prehistory of the Upper Highland region. The conference is held each year around the state, and in 2025 it will be help in the Maricopa Chapter region, January 23-25. Save those dates in your calendar and join your fellow naturalists there.

This was the 10th anniversary of the AZMN Association. Our Chapter will celebrate our 10th anniversary in 2026 and we will more than likely be hosting the state conference that year. We are the oldest chapter in the state, and we want to continue to grow and thrive. Through our eight years of existence, we have provided 41,000 hours of service to the environmental community. This year, I hope that together we can reach 50,000 hours of accumulated service. There are so many ways to volunteer as citizen scientists, environmental educators, and stewards of the environment. Let’s continue to get together, learn more, give more, and play more as a community of environmental geeks.

Post from Juanita: The Central Highlands Chapter put on an amazing conference. It was a great location and provided us with much time to spend learning all about Arizona’s natural history, biodiversity, and geology, but we also spent time getting better acquainted with one another and our fellow chapter members. You know what they say. “You can learn something new from everyone,” and this is so true. So to all of you who made it to the conference- It was wonderful to spend time with you; we had some great laughs and shared great ideas. I hope you learned much about our great state and its ecological communities, geology, natural history, and geology. I sure did. The keynote speaker had a fantastic presentation and was so knowledgeable about natural history and geology!

We also had a great fireside chat with many coyotes howling nearby.

I wanted to share with you all an amazing experience we shared together. Have you ever seen an Acorn woodpecker? We were excited to view this amazing bird; its chatter sounded like heckling ladies; they were on the conference grounds, and we got to see firsthand the acorn woodpecker stashing in action; it was really amazing to see how many acorns were stored in this one Ponderosa pine.

Post from Deb: In addition, the Association held a special raffle whereby each chapter contributed baskets, which included natural and cultural history items related to their area and Arizona. Winners included Dre Hoerr and Peggy Ollerhead from the Pima chapter and Karen Hajek and Darleen Sims from the Maricopa chapter.